Keep sending your emails to the Football League, here is mine. (1 Viewer)

[LB87ccfc]

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you in relation to the Administration of Coventry City Football Club (Ltd).

As you are aware, the club has been in Administration for some time now after the previous owners SISU Capital LTD placed the company down this route.

It has now came to fruition after a drawn out saga involving the courts and the Administrator chosen by SISU in good faith, Paul Appleton, has decided that in the best interest of Coventry City Football Club (Ltd), that Otium Ltd ( SISU company) are the preferred bidder.

As I can imagine, you have received a lot of emails over the past few days, however, I believe some key information needs to be considered before you rubber stamp this deal:-

Sisu have been in charge since 2007 and are a hedge fund company who rely on other markets to perform, if these markets do not perform, then the company could ultimately go bust, resulting in dire straights for the Football Club.

Approx 98% of the Football Clubs Support base are Anti Sisu and this once long standing top-tier of English Football,Club, is close to being totally destroyed, taking many memories of peoples life's with it.

SISU proclaim to injected £45m into the football club, but have been in Transfer Embargo's two-three times during their reign and being in Administration, surely this can not prevail again.

I would like to extend your memory to the incidences Portsmouth and Luton Town Football Club's have found themselves in over the past few years, and would like to take this opportunity to remind you of these circumstances, as I can rest assure you, Coventry City Football Club could face exactly the same circumstances should SISU Capital Ltd remain in sole control of the Club.

Surely if Coventry City Football Club did go into Administration again, this would not look too good on the Football League for signing the agreement?

Coventry City Football Club (Ltd) has a state of the art 32,500 capacity seater stadium situated in the outskirts of Coventry known as the Ricoh Arena, unfortunately SISU Capital Ltd are refusing to use this facility for one reason or another.

Should SISU go ahead with their threats of ground sharing with another Football League Club, then the club will in my opinion, cease to exsist in 3-4 years time, due to the fact the major majority refusing to set foot in any other stadium other than the Ricoh Arena for home matches governed by the Football League.

I would also like to point out that if Coventry City Football Club (Ltd) was to play home fixtures outside of Coventry, then this would be a huge drain in terms of providing adequate safety features in another City such as Policing, and surely there is an element of risk surrounding this and public safety must be taken into consideration.

I would be most grateful if you could please take some of these points into consideration.

Kind Regards,

 

---

[lordsummerisle]

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you in relation to the Administration of Coventry City Football Club (Ltd).

As you are aware, the club has been in Administration for some time now after the previous owners SISU Capital LTD placed the company down this route.

It has now came to fruition after a drawn out saga involving the courts and the Administrator chosen by SISU in good faith, Paul Appleton, has decided that in the best interest of Coventry City Football Club (Ltd), that Otium Ltd ( SISU company) are the preferred bidder.

As I can imagine, you have received a lot of emails over the past few days, however, I believe some key information needs to be considered before you rubber stamp this deal:-

Sisu have been in charge since 2007 and are a hedge fund company who rely on other markets to perform, if these markets do not perform, then the company could ultimately go bust, resulting in dire straights for the Football Club.

Approx 98% of the Football Clubs Support base are Anti Sisu and this once long standing top-tier of English Football,Club, is close to being totally destroyed, taking many memories of peoples life's with it.

SISU proclaim to injected £45m into the football club, but have been in Transfer Embargo's two-three times during their reign and being in Administration, surely this can not prevail again.

I would like to extend your memory to the incidences Portsmouth and Luton Town Football Club's have found themselves in over the past few years, and would like to take this opportunity to remind you of these circumstances, as I can rest assure you, Coventry City Football Club could face exactly the same circumstances should SISU Capital Ltd remain in sole control of the Club.

Surely if Coventry City Football Club did go into Administration again, this would not look too good on the Football League for signing the agreement?

Coventry City Football Club (Ltd) has a state of the art 32,500 capacity seater stadium situated in the outskirts of Coventry known as the Ricoh Arena, unfortunately SISU Capital Ltd are refusing to use this facility for one reason or another.

Should SISU go ahead with their threats of ground sharing with another Football League Club, then the club will in my opinion, cease to exsist in 3-4 years time, due to the fact the major majority refusing to set foot in any other stadium other than the Ricoh Arena for home matches governed by the Football League.

I would also like to point out that if Coventry City Football Club (Ltd) was to play home fixtures outside of Coventry, then this would be a huge drain in terms of providing adequate safety features in another City such as Policing, and surely there is an element of risk surrounding this and public safety must be taken into consideration.

I would be most grateful if you could please take some of these points into consideration.

Kind Regards,

So nobody will go if play at another ground, but will be a drain on police resources coping with all the fans that aren't there?

 

[LB87ccfc]

Obviously a minority will go and some may go depending where it ends up to be a nuisance...

 

[lordsummerisle]

Obviously a minority will go and some may go depending where it ends up to be a nuisance...

So you'd like to stop attendance at all away games in the future too?

 

[LB87ccfc]

So you'd like to stop attendance at all away games in the future too? -----

Sorry did I say that? A Minority weather we like it or not will still lick SISU's arse and attend the "home games" outside of Coventry, and "some" may go for example if it was at Blues,Villa,Leicester... just to be an idiot for the day not for the game, hence resources required. As for away games, tickets are going to be like gold dust.

 

[lordsummerisle]

So you'd like to stop attendance at all away games in the future too? -----

Sorry did I say that? A Minority weather we like it or not will still lick SISU's arse and attend the "home games" outside of Coventry, and "some" may go for example if it was at Blues,Villa,Leicester... just to be an idiot for the day not for the game, hence resources required. As for away games, tickets are going to be like gold dust.

Then the whole policing thing is just fantasy on your part then?

 

[LB87ccfc]

Really cannot be bothered to argue, simply sent an email with much larger points in it, ie pompey/Luton examples, we will be next if this is agreed by the football league, but quite obviously your not too concerned, each to their own.

 

[Samo]

Then the whole policing thing is just fantasy on your part then?

Dont be a dick fella, you can see the guy is tryng to do something for his club. This sort of smart-arsery really isnt helpful.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Mine sent too. It will give me no pleasure to say told you so to the football league in 12 months time

 

[Hobo]

Hobo's letter:

Sir/madam,

I am writing as a concerned life time FA of Coventry City (45years since the age of 7). That has made me a paying football fan who has travelled all over the country watching football, often visiting venues as a neutral supporter.

I am deeply concerned about the involvement of SISU (a hedge fund in my club).
1. They have unnamed investors, how can that meet your rules that people shouldn't have interests in more than one club?

2. Since their arrival there has been minimal investment in players, we are constantly under transfer embargoes and we are now an average Lge 1 side at best.

3. They have not been paying rent at the Ricoh Arena, a magnificent football stadium. Having passed the opportunity to buy at least a share in the facility on takeover of the club, I believe their motive is to distress ACL and get it on the cheap.

4. After threatening to liquidate the club ACL went down administration proceedings not to recoup debt but to prevent our club being liquidated and going out of existence. SISU countered that by putting themselves or part of themselves in administration.

5. SISU I believe have acted UNLAWFULLY under company regulations by placing mechanisms to put potential buyers off. They have yet to publish accounts which are overdue. They have moved asserts between two companies Holdings an LTd. Argued where the Golden share is and even if they are wrong threatened legal action. They are refusing to sell the club they threatened to liquidate?

6. Also once in administration the debts of the club went from around 40 million to 70 million within a week. Fans have done balanced research and those figures don't add up, the debt owed to SISU subsidiaries seems inflated.

7. They now have a farcical financial plan to play at another venue (11,0000 fans have signed a petition saying they won't go to a venue outside the city). This plan has only surfaced since administration and is a further move by them to distress ACL. Despite their claims they have been planning this for over 12 months, they have no ground share arranged, no land bought, no planning permission? Come on get real!

8. It will also put the club further in debt to SISU. who are charging us unknown amounts of interest and management fees. Coventry City Football Club are loosing money SISU aren't.

9 There are other investors willing to buy the club who have more logical plans.

I do not see how you can support SISU who are preferred bidders in the guise of one of there subsidiaries Optium. This company also has not filed accounts and a few months ago seemed worthless. Now it has enough money allegedly to finance a new stadium.

I hope along with other fans you will say they are not fit owners, their plan is unrealistic, they are not capable of meeting fixture arrangements and the Football League will only support new investors in the club forcing the administrator to look at other options.

Yours faithfully

 

[Sterling Archer]

Is anybody getting a reply to these emails?

Surely it would be better for us all to use one template, preferably one which doesn't have contradictory points and inaccuracies?

 

[skybluejelly]

The problem is they are going to get fed up with the emails from Coventry fans and end up just deleting them without reading them... Or just send a standard reply...

 

[Sterling Archer]

lordsummerisle is right though. If you want to send an email to the football league about the whole legalities of our current state, its going to look extremely amateur if there are hole's to be picked throughout the email regardless of the sentiment of it.

Someone like OSB needs to write a template for people to use so we don't end up sending thousands of emails littered with errors. If I was a FL employee, I'd take one look at it, pick hole's in it and ignore it.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

I love the bit about 'having a state of the art stadium that's called The Ricoh Arena'. As if they wouldn't know that already?!

Anyway, well done fella for your e-mail. I just don't think the FL a.) give a toss or b.) read all the e-mails they've no doubt recieved from the CCFC fan base. Like I said though, well done anyway.

WM

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Can only help the situation with the fl if you ask me

 

[_brian_]

My email to them:

Dear Sir (no offence intended if you are a women reading this, but as you are the Football League I have made the assumption that you are male),

I have been a Coventry City fan for longer than I care to remember and I have been a season ticket holder for probably longer than this! I write to you to inform you that my club is in peril. A few season ago 98% of fans welcomed new ownership in the form of the hedge funders called Sisu. We expected them to spend big to get us where we belong (the Premier League (not that that would need clarifying as even you know that that is where we belong!))! We were conned! I have no evidence to back the following statement up, but I believe Sisu sold our best players to pay for a timeshare in Rhyl for their investors (my mate, John, has more information on this if you need it - he holidays there every other year, usually in the spring).

Half of CCFC was recently put into adminstration by Sisu (or someone/something? called Arvo, I think) and then they got one of their employees to pose as the administrator so that he would name another one of their companies, Otium, as the preferred bidder (this is purely speculation on my behalf, based on the fact that he chose this Sisu "entity" (please refer to threads on the SkyBluesTalk forum for more detailed discussion regarding this "entity") over others that would obviously have been a better choice because at least one of them had an affiliation with someone who is a Coventry City fan (he goes by the name of Joe Elliot (Elliot's Car Accessories - you might have heard of them)) and he said that he would buy half of the stadium that most of us used to think was soulless until Sisu said they'd move us out of it and build us another stadium, which reminds me is another reason why we, as fans, all of us, hate Sisu).

I think you get my point and I implore you to do the right thing; although I'll be quite honest with you and admit that I'm not quite sure what this is, but I'm trying to work it out by reading the posts of faceless Coventry City fans (a bit like Joy Seppala - the faceless bit that is, she's not a Coventry City fan, no sir-ee! The s**t!) on the SkyBluesTalk forum!!!

Yours sincerely,

B***n Jones

 

[Sterling Archer]

What a post Brian! Made me laugh and sums up Sky Blues Talk pretty well. However be prepared to be called Joy Seppalla in disguise or some other nonsense.

I'm not a fan of SISU but the nonsense spouted out by their loudest detractors on here almost makes you want to side with them! :laugh:

 

[RoboCCFC90]

My email to them:

Dear Sir (no offence intended if you are a women reading this, but as you are the Football League I have made the assumption that you are male),

I have been a Coventry City fan for longer than I care to remember and I have been a season ticket holder for probably longer than this! I write to you to inform you that my club is in peril. A few season ago 98% of fans welcomed new ownership in the form of the hedge funders called Sisu. We expected them to spend big to get us where we belong (the Premier League (not that that would need clarifying as even you know that that is where we belong!))! We were conned! I have no evidence to back the following statement up, but I believe Sisu sold our best players to pay for a timeshare in Rhyl for their investors (my mate, John, has more information on this if you need it - he holidays there every other year, usually in the spring).

Half of CCFC was recently put into adminstration by Sisu (or someone/something? called Arvo, I think) and then they got one of their employees to pose as the administrator so that he would name another one of their companies, Otium, as the preferred bidder (this is purely speculation on my behalf, based on the fact that he chose this Sisu "entity" (please refer to threads on the SkyBluesTalk forum for more detailed discussion regarding this "entity") over others that would obviously have been a better choice because at least one of them had an affiliation with someone who is a Coventry City fan (he goes by the name of Joe Elliot (Elliot's Car Accessories - you might have heard of them)) and he said that he would buy half of the stadium that most of us used to think was soulless until Sisu said they'd move us out of it and build us another stadium, which reminds me is another reason why we, as fans, all of us, hate Sisu).

I think you get my point and I implore you to do the right thing; although I'll be quite honest with you and admit that I'm not quite sure what this is, but I'm trying to work it out by reading the posts of faceless Coventry City fans (a bit like Joy Seppala - the faceless bit that is, she's not a Coventry City fan, no sir-ee! The s**t!) on the SkyBluesTalk forum!!!

Yours sincerely,

B***n Jones

That is top quality Brian :claping hands::claping hands:

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Yeah great Brian all that effort just to take the mick out of fellow fans

 

[Samo]

Dear Sir or Madam,

My apologies for bothering you once again regarding my club but given the current circumstances I feel compelled to do so.

The owners of Coventry City FC, SISU, placed all it's assets in one arm of the company and all it's liabilities in the other, put the later into administration and now has a bid accepted by the admistrator to buy it back and start over. Do you think this is right? Do you think it's how football clubs should behave? And the most important question;
Will you endorse this behaviour and set a precident by handing them the right to play in the Football League?

Please do not hand the right to play in the Football League to any SISU controlled company. The have no interest in fans or community and are a company who have:

Caused 'catastrophic insolvency'
Failed to file accounts year after year
Repeatedly incurred tranfer embargos
Completely disregarded the wishes and views of supporters
Took the club the brink of liquidation and threatened it
Failed to notice or address flaws in the rental agreement
Refused to pay agreed rent
Made a catalogue of ridiculous decisions
Employed staff who are not fit for purpose
Caused the club to be relegated and took it to it's lowest point in half a century
Plan to play outside of our city in the short and long term

Will you deem them to be to be 'fit and proper' owners?

Please save our club

 

[lordsummerisle]

Completely disregarded the wishes and views of supporters

Employed staff who are not fit for purpose

Pretty much spot on, except that the latter has unfortunately been because they hadn't done the former.

 

[_brian_]

Yeah great Brian all that effort just to take the mick out of fellow fans

Take the mick?!?! I'm trying to do one of the 6 suggested things to do, mate! I recommend doing the same!!! We're all in this together - black, white, yellow, brown, pro Sisu, anti Sisu, pro ACL, anti ACL, neither pro nor anti Sisu or ACL, Stuart Linnell - every one of us, in it together as one!!! You're either with us or against us, well not necessarily against us, but choosing not to be with us for your own justifiable reasons! PUSB!!!

 

[Hells_Bells299]

If nothing else the sheer volume of what they are receiving 'should' spark something with them, we're not naive to think they read every one of them in depth, but enough for them to look before they jump!

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Take the mick?!?! I'm trying to do one of the 6 suggested things to do, mate! I recommend doing the same!!! We're all in this together - black, white, yellow, brown, pro Sisu, anti Sisu, pro ACL, anti ACL, neither pro nor anti Sisu or ACL, Stuart Linnell - every one of us, in it together as one!!! You're either with us or against us, well not necessarily against us, but choosing not to be with us for your own justifiable reasons! PUSB!!!

I obviously misread it-sorry!!

Have sent mine

 

[SkyBlueBlood]

And mine said;

To the Football League Board,

You have all been around football long enough to see what the difference between good football club ownership and bad football club ownership looks like. I know at times this can be virtually impossible to police, with owners hiding behind different company names and putting forward stooge owners / Chairmen for persons who would indeed fail fit and proper owner tests or indeed could not own that club under league rules either because they are already banned or have involvement with another club. Yes, that is a minefield for you which at some point you have to tackle.

That said the maladministration and deliberate disregard for the club, it's supporters and football in general means for the football league to support this regime is untenable. I remind you of the following issues;

SISU takeover 2007
SISU came to Coventry City with a business plan that was correct and should have worked, to develop younger players and to buy younger players with potential to also develop them in the knowledge that for the club to gain financial strength some would have to be sold, but 50% of the profit would be given to the Manager to find new talent to repeat the process. This would result in a reasonably strong and continually improving squad whilst generating income. This lasted less than one season when they began to accept the first offer for any player and indeed through incompetence lost highly talented players for no fee at all! This resulted in a stream of Directors resigning including any who had Football experience and a revolving door for Managers and Players meaning the club had zero stability, which is vital for success. The original plan was sold to fans who due to their love of the club and with SISU's threat of give us your shares or we will not "save" the club surrendered their shares in Coventry City FC for free. How do they regret that now.

Multiple Transfer Embargo's and Late / Incorrect Accounting
I cannot recall the last season that Coventry City were not subject to a transfer embargo due to SISU's incompetence and flagrant disregard for UK Company Law and the rules of the Football Association and the Football League. How difficult can it be to submit annual accounts to Companies House and the Football authorities, unless they have something to hide! Only last week the current Chief Executive Tim Fisher (who signed the last set of accounts) admitted in front of a fans forum and live on BBC radio that the accounts were not correct. This is either incompetence or worse, let's hope it is merely incompetence.

Deliberate non-payment of stadium rent
Without doubt the stadium rent reported to be £1.2 million per annum is excessive for a League One club and a club who does not have access to match-day incomes is on the route to financial failure. However, SISU chose to withhold payments from the stadium owners (a charity and the city council) in reportedly an attempt to strangle them out of business. I think my mortgage is too high, but that does not mean I can cease payments to re-negotiate, another example of how this unscrupulous business thinks.

Coventry City playing outside of Coventry permanently
Having failed in the above bid SISU have incurred huge legal costs on CCFC and in the face of over 90% objection from the supporters are attempting to do an MK Dons and steal our club from the people of Coventry. It is expected that their plans to move to another City (initially for several years) will result in a reduction from average gates around 10k to 13k in Coventry to an average gate of less than 1k. The consensus of fan opinion shows that the building of another stadium outside of Coventry holds no interest for them, we already have a world class stadium at the Ricoh Arena. Tim Fisher's response to this is he doesn't care he is moving OUR club anyway. Additional disregard for fans has been threats to steal the Jimmy Hill statue, Fans bricks from the wall of the Ricoh Arena and to even move the garden of remembrance. This man and his bosses have no idea about football and football club ownership. Football Clubs belong to the fans and their spiritual homes in their HOME cities.

The Golden Share
You seemed surprised that the Golden Share had been moved without the club informing you, well having seen the actions and attitude I have described above what did you expect? More importantly what should we expect next from SISU or whatever company name they choose to hide behind next.

It would be easy for you to ignore this request as just another disgruntled fan, but I have worked in the football league at a very difficult club and fully understand the importance as a football administrator the responsibility you have to the supporters of that football club. Football (especially in the lower leagues) has to improve it's business sense to survive, but that has to be done with honesty, transparency and respect. Words that do not appear in SISU and Tim Fisher's vocabulary.

It is vital for the well being of football, not just Coventry City that you refuse the application from SISU or their other business names for the Golden Share to remove this disgrace from football permanently.

Thank you.

 

[RoboCCFC90]

It said on SSN that unless Otium Entertainment shows record of disastrous financial history or criminal records within the company then they will be allowed to take over the club after the Fit and Proper Test, I think the bloke on there said they approve the bidder and "Hope" they're the right owners to take the club forward.

Also they said regarding a temporary relocation that sometimes under some circumstances that a Football Club needs to move, they used Rotherham as an example when they moved to Sheffield. It was also said that every situation is different but this activity was being monitored by the Football League.

 

[Hobo]

It said on SSN that unless Otium Entertainment shows record of disastrous financial history or criminal records within the company then they will be allowed to take over the club after the Fit and Proper Test, I think the bloke on there said they approve the bidder and "Hope" they're the right owners to take the club forward.

Also they said regarding a temporary relocation that sometimes under some circumstances that a Football Club needs to move, they used Rotherham as an example when they moved to Sheffield. It was also said that every situation is different but this activity was being monitored by the Football League.

Perhaps we should all forward a copy of our letters to Sky Sports News? I'm sending mine any way.

 

[RoboCCFC90]

Perhaps we should all forward a copy of our letters to Sky Sports News? I'm sending mine any way.

It looked like they were speaking to a bloke from the FL but I didn't catch his name, I am not so up to date with all the board members..

 

[Buster]

Take the mick?!?! I'm trying to do one of the 6 suggested things to do, mate! I recommend doing the same!!! We're all in this together - black, white, yellow, brown, pro Sisu, anti Sisu, pro ACL, anti ACL, neither pro nor anti Sisu or ACL, Stuart Linnell - every one of us, in it together as one!!! You're either with us or against us, well not necessarily against us, but choosing not to be with us for your own justifiable reasons! PUSB!!!

Brian!
You were taking the mick mate

 

[mattylad]

This is one of mine, I think they should be collated if were to send on to the press as they will be more receptive. ...This week will be a defining moment in English football.* It will shape how ethical the football league is and whether it really is the true voice of the people's game. Thousands of voices have reached out to you voicing their concerns about the actions of the unaccountable Cayman based hedge fund* SISU and its clandestine actions aimed solely at returning a profit against a failed investment at the total and blatantly open disregard of the clubs supporters.* I implore you to set out an open and honest process that does not ratify the refinancing of this failed endeavour for the sake of all football.

 

[mattylad]

And another. ..Dear football league I am sure this is just one of many emails you will have received in relation to CCFC but I would ask that you do take two minutes to read it.

As you know CCFC ltd was placed into administration by the current custodians of the club SISU quoting an inability to pay the debts it had accrued.

The widely held belief amongst local fans is that debts were deliberately ran up against the company running the Ricoh Arena to distress its business to a point where SISU could mount a hostile take over.

Having failed in its attempt SISU now threaten to do something a second world war could not and stop football being played in the proud city of Coventry.

I would ask that you please show your support for the long suffering fan base of CCFC by refusing to allow these custodians to damage the club any further.

The very essence of whether Football is a business to be played with by those out to make a quick quid or whether it is a part of the community, a legend passsed on through generations is at stake.

At the very least with new owners you might get a set of accounts on time

 

[mattylad]

and just sent.....I read this morning with the deepest of concern on SSN that unless Otium Entertainment shows record of disastrous financial history or criminal records within the company then they will be allowed to take over the club after the Fit and Proper Test.

Do you seriously approve of this bidder? "You Hope" they're the right owners to take the club forward?

Yoy also said regarding a temporary relocation that sometimes under some circumstances that a Football Club needs to move, then used the totally different Rotherham as an example when they moved to Sheffield. What baring can that have?

We the fans of CCFC are not going away!* Just like the Liverpool families after Hillsborough we will fight and fight for the right action to be taken.* Do you at the football league wish to be culpable in years to come for having approved this deal now?

Show us you have strength and back bone, help us regain a say in our wonderful club.

 

[RoboCCFC90]

and just sent.....I read this morning with the deepest of concern on SSN that unless Otium Entertainment shows record of disastrous financial history or criminal records within the company then they will be allowed to take over the club after the Fit and Proper Test.

Do you seriously approve of this bidder? "You Hope" they're the right owners to take the club forward?

Yoy also said regarding a temporary relocation that sometimes under some circumstances that a Football Club needs to move, then used the totally different Rotherham as an example when they moved to Sheffield. What baring can that have?

We the fans of CCFC are not going away!* Just like the Liverpool families after Hillsborough we will fight and fight for the right action to be taken.* Do you at the football league wish to be culpable in years to come for having approved this deal now?

Show us you have strength and back bone, help us regain a say in our wonderful club.

I do agree with you Matty, but I have feeling the FL will approve Otium..

 

[Majik]

Well, I've had a response to mine of sorts - no doubt everyone will get the same. I'm viewing it as a chink of hope, so I don't feel more depressed...

***
Majik,

Thank you for your email.

Please view The Football League's latest statement regarding Coventry City on our official website here http://www.football-league.co.uk/fo...18/statement-on-coventry-city_2293334_3212923 .

The League is not able to comment further at this time.

Thank you for contacting The Football League.

Regards,

Andrew Pomfret
Customer Services Officer
The Football League Limited
www.football-league.co.uk

***

 

[lordsummerisle]

Thank you for contacting The Football League.

Regards,

Andrew Pomfret
Customer Services Officer
The Football League Limited
www.football-league.co.uk

***

Well, he's had his chips.